Tuesday, March 23, 2010

Winfrey, Mzamane Settle Defamation Lawsuit Amicably


By Alicia Cruz
The Black Urban Times

TV mogul Oprah Winfrey has settled a defamation lawsuit lodged against her by the former head mistress of her South African girls school after allegations of sexual abuse surfaced and the woman was accused of knowing or participating in the alleged acts of abuse.

Lawyers for both women said Winfrey and the former headmistress met without their lawyers and amicably resolved their differences leading to the settlement Tuesday.

Nomvuyo Mzamane's suit alleged that Winfrey defamed her with remarks she made in the wake of a 2007 sex-abuse scandal that flourished at Winfrey's Leadership Academy for Girls. Mzamane said she had trouble finding work after the allegations surfaced and felt Winfrey's verbal statements made her responsible.

Winfrey defended her statement citing her right to free speech, arguing she simply voiced an opinion at the time. Mzamane's lawyers asserted that Winfrey's widespread media influence would sway listeners to believe that her remarks were based upon fact versus unproven allegations.

When the sex-abuse allegations hit the news less than a year after the school opened, Winfrey stated she had "lost confidence" in Mzamane and added that she was going to clean house from "top to bottom" in order to resolve the problems within the school.

Mzamane, a native of Lesotho, South Africa, was living in Philadelphia when she filed the suit and adamantly denied being apart of or having any knowledge of any sexual abuse against students at the school.
In response to Mzamane's suit, Winfrey stated she planned to hire nurses to work as dorm matrons at the school, but found that Mzamane hired eight young women from a local company called Party Design.

"These young women were later found to be totally unqualified to handle the position, something Ms. Mzamane had been warned about," Winfrey stated in her court documents.

One of the women Mzamane hired as a dorm matron, Tiny Virginia Makopo, 29, was accused of grabbing a student by the throat and throwing her against a wall; screaming at students and fondling at least one.
In November 2007, Makopo was arrested by Police Superintendent Lunge Dlamini after seven students made formal complaints in reference to abuse they suffered at the hands of Makopo.


She has been charged with assault, indecent assault, criminal injury and soliciting underage girls to perform indecent sex acts. Makopo, hit with 13 charges, has pleaded not guilty to all charges. She was released in lieu of 3,000 (rand) bail (U.S. $460).

Winfrey was deeply hurt by the abuse allegations and felt Mzamane did "little or nothing" when at least 15 students complained of maltreatment.
When the allegations surfaced in October 2007, Winfrey, a survivor of childhood sexual abuse, immediately flew to South Africa to meet with parents and school officials and said, "Nothing is more serious or devastating to me than an allegation of misconduct by an adult against any girl at the academy."

Winfrey's lawyers highlighted three incidents at the school they held Mzamane,as head mistress, responsible for in particular:

Makopo was accused of attacking a dorm parent in one incident. In another, she is accused employing retaliatory tactics in response to allegations of abuse by some of the students rather than resolving their complaints and in another, she was accused of injuring three people with golf cart after a champagne party held at the home of Mzamane. Winfrey's lawyer's asserted that Mzamane did "little or nothing" to prevent or rectify these incidents.

The Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy for Girls is a girls-only boarding school that opened it's doors in January 2007. Located in Meyerton, south of Johannesburg, South Africa, Winfrey founded the Academy in order to provide 150 impoverished seventh and eighth grade girls from South Africa, who displayed exceptional talent for leadership, with advanced educational opportunities.
The Academy now serves approximately 330 girls.


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